China's lunar probe Chang'e-3 landing on the Moon a success

China´s first attempt at lunar soft-landing succeeds CCTV News - CNTV English

China's first lunar rover separates from Chang'e-3 moon lander early December 15, 2013. Picture was taken from the screen of the Beijing Aerospace Control Center in Beijing, capital of China. Photo: Xinhua

Photographs of the Chang’e-3 probe (inset) and Yutu lunar rover taken by each other at the Bay of Rainbows on the surface of the moon on Sunday. Photos: IC

The Chang'e-3 probe and its moon rover separated before taking photos of each other on the moon's surface on Sunday, marking a "complete success" of the Chang'e-3 mission, Ma Xingrui, chief commander of the lunar program, announced on Sunday night.

The moon rover, Yutu, took photos with a panoramic camera at five points at a distance of 10 meters when moving around the probe, while the probe also took pictures of the rover with its landform camera and then sent them back to Earth, said Sun Zezhou, chief designer of the lunar probe.

The pictures of the moon's landscape and the probe and rover on it, carrying China's national flag, mark the country's first soft-landing on the surface of an extraterrestrial body.

Yutu, which traveled at 200 meters per hour, will start a three-month research mission on the moon, examining the moon's soil construction, landform and material composition, according to the State Administration of Science, Technology and Industry for National Defense.

Yutu was deployed from the probe and tracked on the moon's surface at around 4:45 am on Sunday, approximately seven and half hours after the successful soft-landing of the probe.

China became the third country to do so after the US and Soviet Union. The last such mission was made by the Soviet Union in 1976.

The probe touched down on an area named Sinus Iridum, or the Bay of Rainbows, as planned. The landing process started at 9 pm on Saturday and lasted for about 12 minutes, according to China Central Television's live broadcast.

Chang'e-3's landing is the second step of the three key stages of China's lunar program. The third step will involve bringing samples back to  Earth for closer analysis.

News of the landing quickly made an impact on China's hugely popular social media, topping the list of searched items, as many commented in the style of the famous Neil Armstrong remark, "one giant leap for mankind."

The successful soft-landing of Chang'e-3 attracted the world's attention, as some scientists compared China's interest in the moon to that of many other countries in exploiting resources in Antarctica, saying such scenarios depend "entirely on the business case," the AFP reported.

Jiao Weixin, a professor at the School of Earth and Space Sciences, Peking University, told the Global Times on Sunday that the lunar program mainly focuses on its scientific purpose rather than the economic purpose, which Western media reported.

Although the moon may have rich mineral and energy resources, such as helium-3, and China's moon research did include examining such resources, "it is still unrealistic for any country to profit from the moon's resources in the near future considering the technology and cost," he said. 

However, Jiao didn't rule out the possibility of developing moon resources in the future, which should be "many" years away.

During the online interview on the program's official Weibo account, Liu Jianzhong, a research fellow from the Institute of Geochemistry with the Chinese Academy of Sciences, told Net users that whoever is capable of developing the moon's resources first should reap the benefits.

 China's "Jade Rabbit" separates from lander

China's first moon rover, Yutu, or Jade Rabbit, separated from the lander early on Sunday, several hours after the Chang'e-3 probe soft-landed on the lunar surface.

The 140 kg six-wheeled rover touched the lunar surface at 4:35 am, leaving deep trace on the loose lunar soil. The process was recorded by the camera on the lander and the images were sent to the earth, according to the Beijing Aerospace Control Center.

After the separation, the rover and lander will take photos of each other and start their own scientific explorations.

Engineers made final checks of the environment of the landing site, the situation of the probe and the solar incidence angle late night on Saturday and sent signals of separation to Chang'e-3.

Yutu, atop the probe, extended its solar panel and started to drive slowly to the transfer mechanism at 3:10.

The transfer mechanism unlocked at 4:06 with one side reaching the moon's surface, allowing the rover to descend to the surface following a ladder mechanism.

Chang'e-3 landed on the moon's Sinus Iridum, or the Bay of Rainbows, at 9:11 pm Saturday, making China the third country in the world to carry out such a rover mission after the United States and former Soviet Union.

In ancient Chinese mythology, Yutu was the white pet rabbit of the lunar goddess Chang'e. The name for the rover was selected following an online poll that collected several million votes from people around the world.

The rover, 1.5 meters long with its two wings folded, 1 m in width and 1.1 m in height, is a highly efficient robot controlled by the command center from the earth. It will face challenges including temperature differences of more than 300 degrees Celsius on the moon.

Yutu will survey the moon's geological structure and surface substances and look for natural resources for three months, while the lander will conduct in-situ exploration at the landing site for one year. - Xinhua

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Graphics: Launch procedure of Chang'e-3 lunar probe Commentary: Chang'e-3's soft landing marks China's hard success

BEIJING, Dec. 14 (Xinhua) -- The moon Saturday saw a rare new visitor -- lunar probe Chang'e-3 from China, the third country on earth which achieved a soft landing on it after theUnited Statesand the former Soviet Union.

The success also made China the first country that conducted a soft landing on Sinus Iridum, or the Bay of Rainbows, a lunar area that remains unstudied and silent for hundreds of millions of years, stamping new foot prints in the history of mankind's lunar exploration. Full story

China's Chang'e-3 lunar probe amazes world

BEIJING, Dec. 14 (Xinhua) -- China's Chang'e-3, which includes its first lunar rover named Yutu, or Jade Rabbit, has successfully soft landed on the Moon Saturday, fulfilling the long-awaited dream of moon landing of the Chinese nation.

Since the successful launching of Chang'e-3 mission early December, the Chang'e-3 lunar exploration program has been put in the spotlight. Now as Jade Rabbit has made its touchdown on the moon surface, the whole world again marvels at China's remarkable space capabilities and even extends their aspiration for space cooperation with China. Full story

Lunar mission: craft to conduct re-entry tests before 2015

BEIJING, March 14 (Xinhuanet) -- An experimental spacecraft will be launched before 2015 to conduct crucial re-entry tests on the capsule to be used in the Chang'e-5 lunar-sample mission, a leading space program official said.

Chang'e-5 is expected to be China's first lunar explorer to return to Earth. The mission will be carried out before 2020.Full story

Chinese probe reaches record height in space travel

BEIJING, July 14 (Xinhua) -- China's space probe Chang'e-2 has flew to an outer space about 50 million km from the Earth, marking a new height in the nation's deep space exploration, Chinese scientists said on Sunday.
The probe, which is now "in good conditions", reached the height at around 1 a.m. Sunday Beijing Time, the State Administration of Science, Technology and Industry for National Defence(SASTIND) said in a statement.Fullstory

Lunar probe, space exploration is China's duty to mankind

BEIJING, Oct. 6 (Xinhua) -- A chief designer with China's second lunar probe project has said that the country's lunar pursuit, while lagging behind Russiaand the United States for more than 40 years, is still important because space exploration is part of the country's responsibility towards mankind.

"The most fundamental task for human beings' space exploration is to research on human origins and find a way for mankind to live and develop sustainably," said Qian Weiping, chief designer of the Chang'e-2 mission's tracking and control system.Full story

China calls for int'l cooperation in manned space program

BEIJING, June 26 (Xinhua) -- A Chinese astronaut research and training official Wednesday called for international cooperation to promote the development of manned space technologies.

China has long been pushing for international cooperation in manned space program under the principles of mutual respect, equality and mutual benefit, as well as of transparency and opening, said Deng Yibing, director of China Astronaut Research and Training Center.Full story

Kuala Lumpur City Hall (DBKL) should cut costs first !

KUALA Lumpur City Hall’s (DBKL) proposed hefty hike in assessment rates has caught city dwellers by surprise as the increase was way beyond their imagination or expectation.

One does not dispute that rates or quit rent are bound to rise to keep pace with the accelerating cost of living and other factors. However, DBKL is also duty bound not to opt for a hefty hike but look at other avenues to defray the cost and keep domestic and residential assessment rates at a reasonable level.

DBKL needs to go for cost cutting measures to stop its runaway annual budget for the city. There are many ways of doing this.

The various contracts given out by DBKL need to be scrutinised to see whether they are really cost effective and competitively priced. It has now come to a stage where even turfing or landscaping a small area costs tens of thousands of ringgit.

It could be even worse when it comes to other major municipal services. The prices quoted by contractors are prohibitively high. Some of the projects are totally unnecessary and wasteful and the people should not be burdened by paying for them.

Rubbish collection now needs about 30 – 50% of the budget. No major recycling effort is made to reduce the garbage and thus reduce costs.

Littering as well as vandalism are major problems in the city and add to the cost. Stiffer fines could help somewhat.

Also, DBKL is bloated with a lot of unnecessary personnel and professionals that needs to be trimmed, now that computerisation and outsourcing should limit the number of employees. 

The hefty hike in rates has also awakened the long-suppressed urge of KLites to have local council elections, for the city administration to be held more accountable and transparent. Needless to say, elected local councillors can contribute much to a more people-orientated rather than a project-orientated DBKL, as well as initiate cost efficient approaches that will find favour with the city folks. The KL Members of Parliament can only do so much as City Hall is not bound to follow their views and input, especially as most of them are from the opposition parties.

The city folks should now clamour even more for local council elections to be started. Elected councillors would be better suited as they are specifically tasked to address local government problems and the Mayor and department heads are duty-bound to take their views seriously.

One of the major problems facing the people of KL has been that there has been no local government representation since KL became a separate city. KL has neither local councillors nor assemblymen but only MPs.

As the city grows exponentially, various local problems are now coming to the fore. One of them is the escalating expense of running the city. The 11 MPs are simply not adequate for the million-plus city.

Each MP has to cover more than a hundred thousand people, which is an impossible task to represent them effectively. What KL needs is a system of local councillors who can ensure efficient and competent administration, cost-cutting and competitive tenders, and halt unnecessary development, stop wastage and the endless urban sprawl, instead of sky-rocketing expenditure in various areas and sectors that pass the buck to city dwellers already burdened by an increased cost of living.

The Federal Government needs to allocate larger amounts to KL as Putrajaya and Labuan are also now getting a big chunk of the Federal spending. The allocations should be based on the population size and not on other factors which will mean that KL will get bigger grants.

Alternatively, DBKL can use its prime land reserves to be sold to the highest bidder to offset any need for hefty hikes in rates. For this to occur DBKL needs to reserve its prime land and not sell it for short-term gains. A hectare of land in prime areas could cost more than a hundred million ringgit in the future and this could be used to bring down the rates or for other good purposes.

Contributed by V. THOMAS, Sungai Buloh, Selangor The Star

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US, Britain spying on virtual world, agents pose as gamers

Real life James Bond's operating in a virtual world online: American and British spies have been revealed to be posing online on games such as World of Warcraft (pictured) and Second Life

Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2520799/American-British-spies-posed-orcs-elves-World-Warcraft-infiltrate-terror-cells-according-new-NSA-revelations.html#ixzz2n8xExux0
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View of the National Security Agency in the Washington suburb of Fort Meade, Maryland

Freshly leaked documents by former US intelligence contractor Edward Snowden on Monday revealed spies disguised as fantasy characters prowled online games hunting terrorists.

Elves, orcs or other fictional characters happened upon by players in the popular realm of World of Warcraft may have been US and British spies, according to documents released through ProPublica, the Guardian, and the New York Times.

There were also indications that intelligence agents went undercover in online multi-player shooter games, particularly on Microsoft's Xbox Live Internet community for players.

"GVEs (games and virtual environments) are an opportunity!" concluded 'top secret' National Security Agency documents dating back about five years.

"We know that terrorists use many feature rich Internet communications media for operational purposes, such as email, VoIP, chat, proxies and web forums, and it is highly likely they will be making use of the many communications features offered by games and virtual environments."

The report depicted online game worlds as private meeting places that could be used by groups for planning and training.

Examples used to back the reasoning included an "America's Army" shooter game made by the US military and given away as a free download at its recruiting website.

"The game is so good at identifying candidates that it is now used for training," the document said.

It went on to tell of Hezbollah creating a shooter game for recruitment and training, with the ultimate goal of play being to be a suicide martyr.

"While complete military training is best achieved in person, complete perfection is not always required to accomplish the mission," the report argued, noting that some 9/11 attackers were taught piloting with flight simulation software.

Spies have created characters in fantasy worlds of Second Life and World of Warcraft to carry out surveillance, recruit informers and collect data, The New York Times said

"It wasn't enough that they were snooping on email conversations; able to tap phone calls; weaken encryption standards; use sophisticated hacking techniques to install spyware on targeted computers… they needed to extend their range to Middle Earth and Xbox Live as well," computer security specialist and author Graham Cluley said in a blog post reacting to the news.

"How about all these people playing 'Draw Something' who might be doodling secret messages to fellow criminals or conspirators?" he added facetiously.

Microsoft and WoW maker Blizzard Entertainment released independent statements saying they knew nothing of spies snooping in their online worlds.

The report came as eight leading US-based technology companies called on Washington to overhaul its surveillance laws following months of revelations of online eavesdropping from the former National Security Agency (NSA) contractor.

"Fearing that terrorist or criminal networks could use the games to communicate secretly, move money or plot attacks, the documents show, intelligence operatives have entered terrain populated by digital avatars that include elves, gnomes and supermodels," the Times said.

It added: "Because militants often rely on features common to video games -- fake identities, voice and text chats, a way to conduct financial transactions -- American and British intelligence agencies worried that they might be operating there, according to the papers."

The documents do not give any examples of success from the initiative, the report said.

Apple, Facebook, Google, Microsoft, Twitter, Yahoo, AOL and LinkedIn meanwhile wrote an open letter to President Barack Obama and the US Congress calling on Washington to lead the way in a worldwide reform of state-sponsored spying.

"We understand that governments have a duty to protect their citizens. But this summer's revelations highlighted the urgent need to reform government surveillance practices worldwide," the letter said.

Sources: Washington (AFP)

US and UK 'spy on virtual games like World of Warcraft'

 

National security officials are said to have extracted World of Warcraft account data to identify terrorist activity (file photo)

US and British spies have reportedly infiltrated online games such as World of Warcraft in an effort to identify terrorist threats, according to media reports.

The undercover agents reportedly operated in virtual universes to observe messaging and payment systems.

The NSA allegedly warned that such online games could allow intelligence targets to hide in plain sight.

Virtual universe games draw millions of players from around the globe.

News of the operation was broken by the New York Times, the Guardian and ProPublica on Monday using leaked confidential government information obtained by whistleblower Edward Snowden.

The media reports allege US and UK spies spent years investigating online games including Second Life for potential terrorist activity.

One leaked document published by the New York Times claims such video games could be used for recruitment or to conduct virtual weapons training.

'Without our knowledge'

  The NSA is said to have extracted World of Warcraft account data and attempted to link it to Islamic extremism and arms deals, according to the Guardian.

The popular online fantasy game, which at one point boasted upwards of 12 million subscribers, has reportedly attracted users such as embassy employees, scientists and military and intelligence officials.

At one point during the investigation, so many national security agents were reportedly playing video games that a "deconfliction" group was created to ensure they were not inadvertently spying on one another.

However, the documents obtained by former NSA contractor Mr Snowden and cited by the media did not specify if any terrorist plots had been foiled by the effort.

A spokesman for World of Warcraft's parent company Blizzard Entertainment told the Guardian they were not aware any surveillance had been conducted.

"If it was, it would have been done without our knowledge or permission," the spokesman said. - BBC

American and British spies posed as 'orcs and elves' on World of Warcraft to infiltrate terror cells according to new NSA revelations

• Latest revelations from Edward Snowden reveal the NSA has been using agents to pose as players on World of Warcraft
• Up to 50 million people worldwide play the popular virtual game
• NSA and Britain's GCHQ became concerned the game and those like it could be used as clandestine forums for terrorists to plan attacks
• Online operatives even tried to recruit gamers as informants
• More evidence of mass surveillance on civilian population by intelligence service

By James Nye

The NSA document, written in 2008 and titled Exploiting Terrorist Use of Games & Virtual Environments expresses the NSA's worry that despite their wide-reaching PRISM clandestine surveillance of hundreds of millions of people online, terrorists could evade their wide reaching snooping.

New revelations: NSA whistleblower Edward Snowden speaking in October - the former defense contractor has revealed that American intelligence operatives operated online in World of Warcraft and Second Life to try and catch terrorists 

The Guardian has reported that QCHQ, the British counterpart of the NSA even sent operatives into Second Life in 2008 and infiltrated a criminal ring that was selling stolen credit card information in that virtual world.

The Snowden files reveal that the real-life sting in a virtual world was named Operation Galician and was helped by a recruited online informer who 'helpfully volunteered on the target group's latest activities.'

Citing the documents disclosed by Edward Snowden, the report also says agencies 'have built mass-collection capabilities' against Microsoft's Xbox Live online network.

Important details — such as how much data was gathered, or how many players' information was compromised — were not clear, the reports said.

Blizzard Entertainment, the producer of World Of Warcraft, told the Guardian: ‘We are unaware of any surveillance taking place. If it was, it would have been done without our knowledge or permission.’

Online games such as World of Warcraft and Second Life are huge business as players adopt avatars of different people or indeed, orcs, goblins and elves.

NSA HQ: Reports say British and American intelligence officers have been spying on gamers across the world, deploying undercover officers to virtual universes and sucking up traffic from popular online games such as World of Warcraft

The 2008 NSA report claims that if the intelligence garnered from the spying on these online games was used correctly, then pictures of ordinary citizen's and potential terrorist social networks could be built up.

The NSA document reportedly claims to suggest that such infiltration 'continues to uncover potential Sigint value by identifying accounts, characters and guilds related to Islamic extremist groups, nuclear proliferation and arms dealing.'

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Second Life especially intruiged the NSA and GCHQ, because of its plans to introduce voice calls and anonymous texts - that terrorists could utilize.

However, the document revealed by Snowden details no clear indication that the widespread surveillance ever discovered any terrorists or even foiled any attacks - raising serious issues over the privacy of online gaming.

Microsoft declined to comment on the latest revelations, as did Philip Rosedale, the founder of Second Life.

Monitoring: The NSA and Britain's GCHQ have neither confirmed nor denied that they have been spying on the personal details of up to 50 million virtual gamers

The NSA declined to comment on the surveillance of games. 

A spokesman for GCHQ told The Guardian the agency did not 'confirm or deny' the revelations but added: 'All GCHQ's work is carried out in accordance with a strict legal and policy framework which ensures that its activities are authorised, necessary and proportionate, and there is rigorous oversight, including from the secretary of state, the interception and intelligence services commissioners and the intelligence and security committee.'

Indeed, so rife was the spying online of Second Life by the FBI, CIA, and the Defense Humint Service that a memo was sent to try and 'deconflict' their work - i.e. make sure that they weren't treading on each other's toes.

However, the British credit card fraud bust aside, there are no other examples of the surveillance of these popular virtual worlds yielding any results in terms of anti-terrorism.

The agencies did have concerns beyond simple money laundering and planning though.
The NSA thought that games played online could be used to 'reinforce prejudices and cultural stereotypes' - pointing out that Hezbollah had produced their own game called Special Forces 2.

According to the document, Hezbollah's 'press section acknowledges the game is used for recruitment and training', serving as a 'radicalizing medium' with the ultimate goal of becoming a 'suicide martyr'.

Despite the game's disturbing connotations, the 'fun factor' of the game cannot be discounted, it states. 

As Special Forces 2 retails for $10, it concludes, the game also serves to 'fund terrorist operations.'

Read more:

• http://www.theguardian.com/world/2013/dec/09/nsa-spies-online-games-world-warcraft-second-life

Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2520799/American-British-spies-posed-orcs-elves-World-Warcraft-infiltrate-terror-cells-according-new-NSA-revelations.html#ixzz2n910queZ
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